Alexandrov Ensemble soloists

This is an alphabetical list of the basso profondo, bass, bass-baritone and tenor soloists who have performed with the Alexandrov Ensemble (under its various titles) since its establishment in 1928. It is difficult to differentiate between regular and guest soloists, since many have alternated between the one category and the other during their careers, so they are all listed together. Soloists of whom no recordings have yet been found have been listed below as "other soloists".

Until April 2009, when this article was created, little or nothing was generally known outside Russia about these fine soloists: as a group, or (in most cases) as individuals. People in the West could read a few of their names on current Alexandrov Ensemble CDs and DVDs, and perhaps hear a few old 78rpm recordings on YouTube, but could not Google in English for their images or musical biographies. Since April 2009, to a certain extent, they can. Therefore this article is part of the soloists' history.

In 2004, Max Loppert said of Georgy Vinogradov: "How is it possible for any singer of this caliber to have been (outside Russia) this unknown?". One could say the same of the whole group. Before April 2009, almost all online resources on this subject were in Russian and Japanese, and even these were limited in content, so far as the biographies of most soloists were concerned. The dearth of information in the West could be partly attributable to the language barrier and the Cold War. One could speculate that scandals such as those 1951 rumours surrounding Vinogradov could have pressured the Alexandrov Ensemble to exercise particular discretion regarding publicity of their valuable star turns.

Even so, there is almost no online information about the tenor Victor Nikitin, who made a beautiful 78 rpm recording of Cold Waves Lapping in the 1940s, and his last traceable recording appears to have been made in 1951, the same year as the rumours of a bar-room brawl and the end of Georgy Vinogradov's career. One can draw no conclusions, but – outside Russia at least – an air of mystery surrounds some of these great singers.

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Wikipedia